Vulnerability of Wheat Crops to Flooding Outweighs Benefits from Precision Farming and Agroecology Practices: A Case Study in Central Italy

Abstract

This study aimed at testing whether the integration of precision farming (PF) and agroecological practices could influence wheat yield in the short term on soils exposed to varying degrees of risk from flooding. The study embraced two years (2018–2019 and 2020–2021) of wheat cultivation in Central Italy. A two-way factorial grid with agronomic practice (two levels: agroecology vs. conventional on-farm management) and soil vulnerability to flooding (three levels: extreme, mild, non-vulnerable) as factors was set up. The agroecology level included a number of agroecology practices (rotation, use of nitrogen-fixing crops, mulching, and reduction in chemical fertilization). Crop phenology and photosynthetic activity of wheat was monitored by remotely-sensed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Grain yield was estimated at twenty sampling points at the end of year 2. A flooding event occurred during year 2, which led to significantly lower photosynthetic activity compared to year 1 in extremely vulnerable plots regardless of agronomic practices. Grain yield measurements confirmed that vulnerability was the sole factor significantly affecting yield. The study concludes that food security on vulnerable land can be guaranteed only when precision farming and agroecological practices are coupled with water management techniques that strengthen the resilience of vulnerable soils to floods.

Unstable State of Hydrologic Regime and Grain Yields in Northern Kazakhstan Estimated with Tree-Ring Proxies

“…Experimental studies have attributed a wide range of impacts from precipitation on the phenological stages of barley and oats by measuring the adaptability of oats to excess moisture at an early growth stage (0-28 days after sowing to grain filling) and the risky intolerance of barley to heavy rains [14]. Wheat does not react much to water stress during the milk-grain stages, yet short-term flooding significantly lowers photosynthetic activity, and, if it occurs during the stem elongation phase, the flooding may lead to crop failure [15]. The consensus predicts that grain yields would be reduced considerably if high temperature extremes and heavy precipitation become more frequent [3,4,6,16].…”